Farscape Epic RPG: At The Moment Of Violence
by Chant99
Summary: A short look into Berret's prospective of dealing with being a Syndicate Enforcer.
1. Forward

**THE FARSCAPE EPIC RPG UNIVERSE: NEW CHARACTERS & SETTING.**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** This story was written based on the characters from my Farscape RPG group. So far I've gotten some very nice reviews here on the fanfic stories based on the RPG characters and Farscape AU story line, so I'll continue to post them as long as people enjoy reading them. But first I need to explain a bit about our RPG so you can follow the extra characters and the alternate Farscape universe we have going.

The name of the original group on Yahoo is "Farscape Epic RPG", but it was hijacked by a hacker and Yahoo was less than helpful with attempting to regain control, so the regular members moved to a new group that is now called: "The Alliance Wars" and it can also be found on Yahoo groups for those who wish to look us up.

The game is still based in an alternate Farscape universe that diverges from the shows timeline somewhere after Talyn's birth but before the Chiana/D'argo relationship.

The **Jared Berret** character here is basically the same Shrike 457 character from the "Fallen Angel" series posted here, although the original meeting between Chiana and the Shrike took place in a different way in the game.

The other new characters in this story are original player characters.

**Andar Murdough** - is a Sebacean teacher from a forgotten and lost colony. Andar's people have lost so much knowledge over the cycles that space flight is considered science fiction. Andar is abducted by aliens who experiment on his brain trying to increase intelligence. The project works much better then they thought and Andar steals a shuttle and eventually finds his way to Moya. Andar becomes a sponge for any sort of knowledge and begins to go through Moya's data banks learning everything he can. He often sees machines or gadgets in his mind and will disappear for days into his workshop to build them. (The Andar character belongs to Murdough2000.)

**Malika Phatan** - is a 125-year-old Delvian teenager. After spending a number of cycles as a Peacekeeper slave aboard a command carrier, she and her mother escape in a Prowler, but at the cost of the life of a young PK officer who fell in love and secretly married Malika. After a time of running and hiding, the pair run into a Syndicate Shrike and the meeting leaves young Malika with an intense hatred and distrust for the Enforcers when the assassin kills a client Malika took a job bodyguarding for, and almost kills her and her mother in the process. Sometime after that, Malika's mother is tragically killed, leaving the girl alone. She hears a story about an escaped Leviathan with a Delvian Pa'u aboard and sets out to find the living ship with the hopes of fulfilling her mother's dream of her becoming a Pa'u. She finds Moya and Zhaan (who is alive in our game) and the older Delvian agrees to take her in. However, now there is a Shrike aboard Moya as Chiana's companion, and she is having a hard time controlling the tendencies for violence she developed during the hard life she lived on the run from the Peacekeepers. Through young, Malika is also a skilled healer and thanks to her parents, an educated student of exobiology. She sets up a small lab on one of Moya's lower tiers, mostly to hide out from having to be around Berret ... and possibly Andar. Both Andar and Malika feel an attraction to each other, but the Delvian isn't sure she wants to open her heart to another after what happened to her Peacekeeper husband. (The Malika character belongs to Lonegirl189.)

**Sean Crichton** - 70 years after the disappearance of astronaut John Crichton, his descendant Sean uses John and DK's research to construct the Wander module. In an attempt to prove that his ancestor's theories were sound, Sean repeats the slingshot effect and is also thrown halfway across the universe only with a slightly different result. The Wanderer module is somehow draw backward in time to the Farscape module's location and is expelled from a wormhole near Moya. Sean finds himself stun to be surrounded by a group of aliens and suddenly faced with a family legend. (Some early stories take place before Sean's arrival, while at the time of some later stories, Sean has used a wormhole to return to Earth, carrying advanced technology with him in an attempt to get his homeworld ready for the threats that face them. Using a device built by Andar, Sean was also shot forward to his own time, though no one has any way of knowing if the younger Crichton has made it safely.) (The Sean Crichton character belongs to Marspsi12.)

**ADDITIONAL CHARACTERS & TERMS:** Created by Chant99 for the series. (Note: The crews' children appear in different stories from the ages of 4 to their 20's.)

**Andrea (Sun Crichton):** Age 27, oldest daughter of Aeryn Sun and John Crichton. Working now with Rygel and the alliance to form pacts with other races in the Territories, Andrea also has a secret she's keeping from her parents.

**Missy (Melissa Sun Crichton):** Age 25, youngest daughter of Aeryn Sun and John Crichton. Wife of Jalen and mother of Terralyn

**Jalen ('Len ):** Age 27, son of Chiana and Jared Berret. Husband of Missy Sun Crichton and father of Terralyn

**Chulee ('Lee):** Age 25, daughter of Chiana and Jared Berret.

**Terralyn:** Age 4, daughter of Missy Sun Crichton and Jalen. Granddaughter of John Crichton, Aeryn Sun, Chiana, and Jared Berret.

**Joban Rickler**: First Sergeant of the 1st Elite Hynerian Guard at Rygel's Palace on Hyneria. Father of Tamilla and Nella. A large Sebacean man and farmer from a colony back-world that was overrun by the Scarrans. After his wife was killed, Joban took his daughters and escaped, becoming a refugee until finding his way to Hyneria and a position in the Hynerian Royal Guard. During his tour of duty at the palace, Joban meets Shrike Berret and his family (in "Future Tense"), during a raid on the crewmate's apartments by the Nebari to recover Chiana, the ex-farmer helps fight off the attackers to save the crew and is wounded. Sometime in the cycles afterward, Joban retires and occasionally travels aboard Moya with his new friends, helping with their cargo hauling business.

**Tamilla:** Oldest daughter of Joban Rickler and maid at Rygel's Palace. Later becomes mate to D'Argo's son, Jothee.

**Nella:** Youngest daughter of Joban Ricker. A nurse on Hyneria.

**Zhara (Mihyta Zhara):** Young Delvian acolyte of Zhaan's and a friend of Chulee's. Barely out of her teens for a Delvian at 120 cycles old, Zhara has yet to take her vows for the first level of the Delvian Seek. A pretty girl of good humor and a loyal friend to Chulee and the rest of the crew, she also carries a torch for Berret who's been alone now for over five cycles after Chiana's death. Besides pressure from Chulee to consider the young Delvian for a companion, Zhaan and Malika also try their best to interest the Shrike in their friend and student.

**Marai:** The master assassin once known as _Val'Cirrus_ (In "The Grandmaster") The reptilian female has now been healed and rehabilitate by the Shrike Grandmaster Shenna and is a full Master Shrike in the Mek-Klor-TaZ Shrike clan and Shenna's Right-hand. Marai deeply regrets her Syndicate past and is instrumental in bringing Berret into the fold of the clan. Despite their past almost deadly encounter, both Marai and Berret become allies.

**Warna Druz:** An 18 cycle old Sebacean girl and Shrike apprentice to Marai in the Mek-Klor-TaZ clan. She travels to Earth with her teacher in search of Berret and later accompanies him on a mission. Warna is fiercely loyal to Marai, especially after both her parents have died and Marai and the Clan raised her. Warna is also a very skilled pilot.

**Mytell:** Assistant to Nerri, former rebel leader and now Proconsul of the "Nebari Free States" on Nebari Secondus, and Chiana's brother. Mytell is also Chulee's suitor. After seeking permission to court his superior's niece and passing uncle Ka'D'Argo's severe scrutiny, Mytell is even more daunted to finally met his beloved's father upon his return to the Territories.

**Lerris:** Once Nebari Ambassador to Hyneria (in "Future Tense") Lerris has moved up to become Chancellor of Nebari Prime. Lerris and his henchman, Hyril, were responsible for the attack on the crewmate's quarters 20 cycles ago and the near fatal injuring of Chiana and Berret's son, Jalen. Berret viciously killed Hyril in an act of vengeance, but reluctantly left Lerris alive at Rygel's urging. Even after 20 cycles, Berret's hatred for Nebari outside of his family still burns, especially when it comes to Lerris.

**Lyric:** A 10-cycle-old Nebari orphan that Berret discovers on a New Syndicate outpost during a raid. Berret adopts the young girl into his family (both close and extended, meaning Moya's crew and the Shrike clan) A situation which creates more tension between Berret and Lerris, after the Chancellor attempts to take custody of the Nebari waif.

**Chiana, **_**Clone of:**_ Using stolen DNA, the New Syndicate creates a clone of a teenage Chiana in an attempt to obliterate Berret before he can fulfill Shenna's wish for him to become the next Grandmaster of the Territories most powerful Shrike clan. The threat of a rogue Enforcer that once destroyed an old Syndicate High House is too great for the new organization to risk, so the clone is constructed. Born with the memories of a rebellious teen Chiana, the Syndicate makes her believe that Berret is responsible for the original Chiana's death and trains her to become a Shrike Enforcer who's sole purpose is to track Berret down and kill him.

**Val'Cirris:** see _"Marai"._

**Arckatius:** The Scarran leader of the Black Syndicate House that enslaved Berret and made him a Shrike Enforcer / Assassin. Arckatius is a distant cousin of Scorpius' and is slightly demented for a Scarran, believing himself to be a "King". In "The Grandmaster", Arckatius sends his Master Shrike, Val'Cirrus after Berret to kill him and bring back his control collar - which contains information about several operations that Berret took part in for the Black Syndicate. Berret had vowed to kill the Scarran Syndicate leader in repayment for his enslavement and the life he feels that Arckatius has destroyed. Driven by the haunting nightmares of the lives he was forced to take as a Syndicate Enforcer, Berret felt that killing Arckatius would go some way in atoning for his "sins." He also held the Scarran responsible for what he thought at the time as his inability to love Chiana... and that the Nebari girl could never love him in return because of the things he has done in his Syndicate past. Arckatius met his end somewhere in the events that take place in the story "I, Assassin."

**Grandmaster Zear Shenna:** The leader of the mysterious Shrike Clan of Assassin Warriors of legend. A Delvian man over 1600 cycles old, Shenna sometimes appeared when Berret or the crew found themselves needing help. For some reason Shenna has a mysterious interest in Berret and is somehow able to keep track of him and the crew no matter where they traveled in the Territories. The crew isn't sure what his agenda is, but so far he seems to genuinely have the group's best interest in heart.

Grandmaster Shenna revealed some of the true history of the Shrike Clans to Berret and Chiana in "The Grandmaster," where they learned that the Syndicate 'borrowed' the term 'Shrikes' for their assassin Enforcers... playing off the old legends of the ancient warrior / assassin / soldiers to increase the fearsome reputation of their killers.

**Magda:** One of the Scarran leaders of the New Syndicate. May have been responsible for creating and training the Enforcer Chiana clone.

**Kessca:** a young Skykarian female Shrike and friend of Warna. Member of a Shrike clan strike team.

**Ardenin Reese:** Sebacean First Shrike (unit leader) of a clan strike team.

**Tamos Hunter:** young Sebacean male Shrike. Youngest member of a clan strike team.

**Tonk:** Simterrian Shrike member of a clan strike team. Simterrians are large apelike beings that resemble a Wookie on steroids. Easily twice the mass of a Luxan, the Simterrians usually serve as the heavy weapons unit of a strike team. Their battle armor often includes shoulder-mounted weapons such as missile pods or light pulse cannon.

**Hark:** Simterrian Shrike member of a clan strike team. Like all Simterrians, Hark rarely speaks unless he has something important to say, and when he or Tonk do speak, it's wise to listen to what they have to say. Fiercely loyal and courageous, there are few better fighters to have on your side.

**Mek-Klor-TaZ Clan:** The true name for the Shrike sec that Grandmaster Shenna leads. This branch of Shrikes has served the Hynerian throne and Rygel's family for many generations. A pact of secrecy, support, and service as existed between the two organizations and is so strong that it is one of the few things Rygel would never think of betraying. The Dominar never reveals his knowledge all the long cycles aboard Moya to Berret, though he keeps an eye on the ex-Enforcer at Shenna's request.

**Scarran Black Syndicate:** (The Syndicate, Black Syndicate) Criminal organization that has it origins dating back to early Scarran culture. In modern times the membership is no longer restricted to only Scarrans, though the head of each family, known as "Houses" is typically a Scarran. The organization is technically outlawed and considered an enemy of the state by the Scarran Imperium, but the government is not above using the Syndicate as a resource if the situation warrants it. The Black Syndicate also has strong ties into other cultures and worlds and rumor has even into the highest ranks of Peacekeeper Command. All is not always peaceful inside the Syndicate as well. The hierarchy is divided into "High" and "Lower" Houses, each with their own territories, free agents, and preferred illegal operations. There are often violent and bloody feuds between various Houses over one thing or another. Each Syndicate House employs Enforcers or Assassins they call Shrikes, after mythic warriors of legend. Rumor has it that about 1000 cycles ago, a Syndicate House stumbled across one of the scattered real Shrike clans or schools. After enslaving the survivors they forced them to reveal some of their secrets and used them to re-create the Shrikes as a weapon for Syndicate use.

Using controlled slaves or free-willed murderers garbed in a version of Shrike battle armor and cloaks, the Black Syndicate wrote a bloody name for itself through the next 1000 cycles of history on the edge of brace blades made from a rare element that could shear through some metals, as well as flesh, as if it were paper.

**NEBARI BONDING:** The Nebari form of marriage. Life partners exchange vows before priest or other spiritual leader, at the end of which their witnesses pierce their left ears with matching earrings. Bonding is the one single aspect of Nebari culture that Chiana would not joyfully go out of her way to scoff at or disrespect.

**NEBARI – CHEEK RUBBING RITUAL:** Nebari by nature are highly sensual before mental conditioning. Kissing and sexual intimacy are often casual play for those who have escaped the Establishment before Mental Cleansing. Nebari constantly touching another person cheek-to-cheek is a form of body language to let the other person know they are special to them… and not just another casual frell.

**NEBARI NICKNAMES:** The nicknames of 'Len & 'Lee for Chiana and Berret's children, stem from a Nebari custom I invented for the story where close friends and family members used a shortened version of a person's name as a sign of a close or intimate relationship. Thus Jalen and Chulee are sometimes referred to as 'Len and 'Lee by their parents and other members of the crew. Chiana sometimes calls Berret - 'Ret, while Chiana is called 'Ana by her brother when they met. Nerri's name is not shortened in the story but would probably be something like 'Ri if it was. The ( ' ) is suppose to indicate a slight Nebari accent on the name. I leave that up to the read to imagine exactly how that would sound to them.

**BAT' RELLITE:** The Scarran term for a rare alloy used primarily to make the blades of a Shrikes brace weapons. The molecules of the metal are arranged in layers that vibrate in opposite directions from each other, creating a "saw-like" effect on the molecular level. Thus blades made from this element never need to be sharpened and can easily cut through lesser grades of metals – with the exception of Qualta. Qualta is denser and has a refracting quality that blocks Bat'Rellite's molecular cutting effect. This quality in Qualta is one reason why Luxan make their weapons, particularly the Qualta Sword, out of it. Weapons constructed of this material would most likely never blow up from accidental over-charging and remain serviceable for hundreds of cycles. The armor of Shrike Enforcers from High Syndicate Houses often have Qualta inlays to help defeat attacks by other Shrikes, as there is often in-fighting among the Houses for power and territory.

**THE "FUTURE TENSE" CHRONICLE:**

The Events from "Future Tense":

This story takes place approximately 11 cycles after the show's timeframe and my RPG game. At this time it has been already discovered that Berret is a human that had been abducted by alien slavers and sold to the Scarran Black Syndicate as a slave. Being a human is what had allowed Berret to survive the implantation of the experimental microbes that normally killed the average Sebacean. The microbes alter Berret's physiology to the point where he can no longer be considered an Earth human and in the beginning he feels no connection to John or Sean as being a member of the same species. Unlike the two Crichtons, he has no desire to return to Earth, as he would no longer fit in even if he could remember all of his past on his homeworld. Sometime during his time aboard Moya, Zhaan (who is alive, as well as Crais and Talyn in this universe.) helps him retrieve some memories from his past, one of which is his first name - Jared.

At John insistence that humans generally have two names, Berret adopts the name Jared Berret. While John sometimes refers to Berret as J.B., Chiana on the other hand often ignores or refuses to use the name Jared in the beginning. As she starts to realize she had feelings for the ex-assassin beyond their relationship as friends and crewmates, she finds she's strangely reluctant to acknowledge anything that was part of Berret's life before their meeting and sticks to the name Berret which she had given him. As time goes on and the pair go through various trials and adventures and are Bonded (Nebari version of marriage) the reluctance fades and she's comfortable using his first name, only falling back on the name Berret in times of severe stress or trouble.

The Events in "Future Tense: Broken Mirror":

The story picks up approximately a quarter cycle after the events in "Future Tense". The crew has decided to pick up their cargo hauling business when Jalen has recovered enough from his injuries despite the growing war between the Peacekeepers and the Scarrans. On a supply run, an accident resulting from the use of a new Scarran weapon transports Zhaan and Berret into an alternate reality - and eleven cycles into the past.

Needless to say, the reality they end up in is the one from the show. This was written during the Chiana / D'argo relationship but before the arrival of Jothee or the death of Zhaan. This story is still ongoing and is nowhere near finished yet. It may take some time to do so as I have several other stories also in the works - so please be patient with me.

The Events in "Future Tense: Twilight's End":

Twenty cycles have passed since the events in "Broken Mirror." Chiana has passed away due to a strange illness, leaving her children, Berret, and the rest of the crew to go on without her. Berret has discovered that the microbes the Syndicate infected him with are not allowing him to age normally, well into his sixties, Berret still appears to be a man in his mid 30's. Growing no closer to old age and a time of rest, and feeling the loss of his beloved Bond-mate, Berret decided to leave Moya and return to Earth to explore his past. Time passes for Berret until Rygel and Shenna sent a plea for him to return to the Territories to help them face a growing menace that threatens them all. Berret returns to take part in one final conflict for control of the Territories - and the everlasting safety of his family and friends.

This story is also on-going and already has well over a 100 pages written and it's maybe half done. Unfortunately I jump around quite a bit when I write so this story is in sections that need more parts written yet to join them together.

As always, I have several storylines going, and go back and forth to keep from getting bored and the story from getting too stale. So it may sit for a while, while I give it a rest and work on something else. I feel its better for the story in the long run instead of forcing ideas to come just to finish it up. This story is meant to be the end of the adventure, and maybe the beginning of something else. After all, even Captain Kirk died in the end so that the story and the adventure could live on elsewhere. But then again... does anyone really die in Sci-fi?

Thanks for bearing with me through this long explanation. I truly also apologize for the layout of my last few stories, I have yet to figure out how to get theformat from MS Word to transfer right to the site.

I truly hope you enjoy the story.

Chant99


	2. Chapter 1

"You have everything of value that we possess… now please go!"

Zhaan clenched at her bleeding shoulder wound as she looked up from the ground at the man who had just cut her. Her attempt at bargaining our way out of an altercation was obviously failing.

There were seven of them. All large men with the look of experience at strong-arm crimes, armed with an array of serviceable weapons, ranging from slightly rusty knives to old-fashion blasters. They had cornered us in a deserted alleyway some distance from the bazaar we had abruptly left when Chiana thought she might have seen a patrol of law-enforcement personnel that was showing too much interest in looking the market clientele over.

Three of our assailants had trailed us while the other four waited ahead of us inside the alley. The pincer movement was basic, simple but effective – sound tactics that I understood… and might have used myself if the roles were reversed.

"You better hope that's not all you have, Delvian tralk!" spewed the man with the knife now stained with Zhaan's blood.

When the men approached and their intent became clear, the priestess whispered to us to let her handle the situation, and that it would be best if we just gave them the meager supplies we had managed to gather rather than risk drawing attention to ourselves by fighting back. The planet was resource poor and we hadn't found much we could use back aboard Moya, however much like countless other worlds, the criminal element here was just as greedy and callous as elsewhere.

That also was something I understood all too well.

They had been displeased with what they found in our nearly empty packs, and without warning, the one I judge to be leader had slashed Zhaan across the shoulder, surprising the Delvian and knocking her to the ground as a result.

"That's all the frell we have!" Chiana spat back after she had knelt down beside the blue woman and began ripping at the Delvian's outer robes after inspecting her shoulder to make bandages to press against the bleeding wound.

"Lets just see," said another thug with a blaster. "Give me your frelling coat!" he demanded as he set action to words. He reach down, grabbing the Nebari's gray overcoat by the shoulder and jerked so hard that the young girl was spun away from the injured Zhaan. Chiana was effectively stripped of the garment and left stunned on the ground with the wind knocked out of her a short way from the priestess.

I had sworn to obey Zhaan without question on this trip planet-side, and offered no resistance when she decided to hand over our supplies. Her unity sessions with me to recover my memory and past have left me with a deep respect for the Delvian woman and her abilities, it was only logical that I do as she instructed.

Even remaining still after the man with the knife had cut her against my baser instincts. Unity had shown me that Zhaan would willingly suffer the minor injury rather then retaliate if given the choice and opportunity. The concept was one she had done her utmost to impart to me during our sessions. Life, all life, was sacred to her… even this criminal's who had just harmed her.

I, on the other hand was having growing difficulty reining in my Enforcer nature. The Syndicate had programmed me for retribution … my sole function in the organization was one of violence. Finding myself in the midst of escalating aggression… I found a core part of me wanted to step off the edge and give myself into it, despite trying to follow what Zhaan had been attempting to teach me… and what she had instructed.

The robber with Chiana's coat chortled as a quick search turned up the pitiful bounty of items she had managed to snurch without Zhaan or I catching her. The discovery made our capturers a little more hopeful for more hidden treasure.

"Where's the rest of it, whore?" the leader snarled as he painfully ground his heel into Chiana's knee.

"That's all!" the Nebari girl managed to squeal out as she pulled her leg out from under the man's boot with some great effort.

A low growl escaped me and I felt the small pressure in my eyes that meant they were tinting silver. Zhaan had been racking her brain to discover a way to get us out of the position before it turned critical without success. Her worried gazed snapped to me at the animalistic noise I issued without thought.

"Berret…" she pleaded in a low tone.

The leader looked over at me also. "Oh, we haven't forgotten about you fancy-boy," he said. Another gang member with a gun directed the muzzle at me to enforce his chief's point. "I think we'll just relieve you of that fine-looking cloak you're hiding under. I know some rich nurfer that would give me a pretty credit chip for it."

Their attention was fine with me. If they were focusing on me, they were leaving Chiana and Zhaan alone for the moment. My vision had sharpened – fine details about my opponents were brought to the front of my attention and indexed for tactical reference. They seemed to be moving in slow motion to me as I studied them. My body felt warm, reflexes sharp, and my blood charged… while the inner part of me, that which I thought of as my center, felt cold as an ice moon.

It was always that way when the microbes' augment took me.

It was always that way when my Shrike nature decided it was time to kill.

I stepped forward. The cloak fell from my shoulders with a touch of the silver clasp that held it. The thugs were more then surprised to discover the gunmetal-black armor that covered most of my body. On this backwater world I doubted that they knew what Enforcer body-armor was. There was simply nothing here that would have interested the Scarran Black Syndicate, thus they would have little or no interaction with its representatives.

"What the hezmana?" the leader said, and then laughed at the sight of me. The rest of his group soon joined in.

I felt myself involuntarily smirk at their ignorance. My programming was designed to exploit weaknesses; it was also designed to make sure that their education would be a malicious one.

A small groan of defeat drew my attention back to Zhaan. I meet her blue eyes and a tiny part of me nearly hesitated. I did not need the link of Unity to know that a feeling of utter powerlessness to prevent what was coming passed between her and the rapidly fading part of me that was Berret in that split microt of a gaze.

While I did not find endorsement there, I found repugnance acceptance of what was going to happen.

Zhaan understood; the circumstances of the situation which had grown out of her control despite her best effort, the fact that our attackers had willingly pushed it to that conclusion, and the realization that I could no longer resist my Enforcer conditioning.

I am what I was made to be.

Chiana had made her way back over to the Delvian and was by her side as I turned back to the group of street thugs. " 'Ret? Retty?" she asked, her panic building as she realized what was about to take place.

Her tone drove a spike into my waning control; the pitiless blackness – the Shrike – came to the front of my being to ply its trade.

My friend, my savior, knew the price of self-loathing I would pay later. I also knew she would suffer right along side with me in a way. I briefly wondered why she chose to bear the pain I brought to her. Knowing what I was, seeing me kill ruthlessly, witnessing the awful deeds I was capable of.

She had to be as revolted as I was… yet she has not asked me to leave.

The Nebari thief made as if to scramble forward to restraint me, Zhaan halted her with her good arm.

"Chiana… you cannot stop it now," the Delvian told her quietly.

Yes, Zhaan knew my temperament all too well.

Chiana helplessly grasped the older woman's hand tightly and forced herself to watch.

The part of my new post-Syndicate persona that had been pushed far into the background of what I was wished in vain that she'd turn away, bury her face in Zhaan's robes, and not watch.

Sensing a new game afoot, the group of men surrounded me, all but ignoring the two women.

I felt the armor settle about me like a second skin. I, the Shrike, barely noticed its weight most of the time and never while in combat… or while hunting prey when I was a Syndicate assassin.

I flexed my fingers in the metal plated half-gloves that protected my hands. I was well aware of the twin blades that rested along both my forearms inside each of the braces, ready to be called forth to spill blood and end life.

The gauntlets were biomechanical in nature, like Moya, though not as advanced in intelligence. I was linked to them through my microbe augmentation in such a way that the weapons they concealed became almost a part of my own body. Together we became a one, a whole single entity… a twisted, soulless creature that served death in the most gruesome ways imagined.

When the blades deployed, I knew exactly where the tip of each one ended as surely as I knew where each of my fingertips ended… I could feel exactly how deep they'd bite when they pierced flesh, sense the parting of bone, and perceive the stilling of a heart or other organ.

Each deadly claw-like blade started out in a vague three-edged T-shape and tapered to a fine piercing point some fourteen henta in front of my closed fist. The perfect design for a predator… and like a born predator at any given time I knew where each edge and stabbing point is orientated in relation to what I want to kill.

The rare metal they are constructed of, _Bat'Rellite_ in the Scarran language, can shear through lesser metals as if they were mere paper. The bladed never needed to be sharpened; the unique molecular properties of the unusual element made that task superfluous. Flesh, bone, and most body armor… its all the same to me if I decided to eradicate something.

The only material that poses a problem to my quasi-talons is the Luxan metal – Qualta. Qualta is the elemental opposite to Bat'Rellite, just as Luxan warriors are the ethical opposite of Shrike assassins. Qualta, like its Luxan masters is to be feared by the Syndicate Shrike. Qualta can spell defeat, defeat of my weapons and failure of my mission.

Just as a Luxan should never be faced in opened single combat, Luxans are best killed by ambush or by superior numbers. Which is why Enforcers eradicate Luxans in Triads with the help of a Master Shrike.

It is this form of "un-honorable" tactics that leads the Luxan to hate Shrikes as much as we hate them.

I cannot help it – it is in my programming. Which is why I had such difficultly adjusting to Ka'D'Argo's presence aboard the Leviathan.

Luckily, with Chiana and Zhaan's help I have been able to get around that portion of my ingrained nature for the most part.

My opponents ranged about me, some in front, some behind, some to the sides just in my peripheral vision.

Paths and patterns of attack formed and then reformed in my mind as each attacker shifted his position one way or another. I let it happen as it would – trusting in the Enforcer part of myself that I was growing to despise so much – to be cool, calculating, and to pick the optimal moment.

It wasn't time yet.

That component of me that coldly judged range and angles for killing assaults told me that one or two men at any given time were outside of my efficient extermination zone. The Syndicate assassin within me would not react until either the perfect moment arrived… or one of the men finally commenced the attack.

As a normal humanoid, even one with the microbe augmentation, I knew that there was little likelihood of surviving such an attack of superior numbers, I had no choice but to let the skills my past left me with take over and do what they were intended to do.

The part of me that had become Berret faded into the background, my mind shifted further into the cold and calculating thing I had once been before Chiana and her crewmates took me in.

It seemed like arns might had passed but I instinctively knew it was only microts. Possible patterns of attack updated and rearranged themselves as I waited. Tactics and strategies inserted themselves wherever called for.

Strangely, my Scarran masters had seen fit to download several military texts on the subject of battle strategies from several cultures into my assassin programming. One of the ones that most presented itself was by the ancient Scarran tactician, Fortgar. Fortgar's writings "The Five Postures and Elements of Battle" was still required study in the Scarran military five thousand cycles after his death.

One of the basic concepts in Fortgar's teaching said, "the true warrior lived 'at the moment of violence'. Nothing that came before mattered, nothing that will come after will mater. There is only the perfect execution of your craft in the perfect moment."

As a Syndicate Enforcer, I have too many memories of "living at the perfect moment." And here I was, posed at that moment once more.

How I, as Berret, hated this life.

Thinking my unfocused gaze was one of fear, one of the men armed with a long knife laughed and rushed several steps in to skewer my throat with his weapon.

The moment had arrived.

I waited as he approached and committed himself, sure of an easy kill. Just as he lunged with the knife I twisted slightly and stepped back with my right foot, turning my body side-ways to him and out of his line of attack. My right forearm came out and almost gently deflected his thrust past me even further; it was always easier to redirect a thrust then to stop it. I twisted back the way I had been and sent my left arm in under his attacking limb. Stepping forward as I did this helped send the ridge-hand strike I used into his throat and pick him up off his feet. The metal covering the backs of my hands aided in crushing my foe's larynx, he was already choking to death as he hit the ground. The game was no longer gentle.

A second man to my right uttered a loud curse and stepped forward with a staff the size of a walking stick to take a side-swing at my skull. The sound of the stick cutting the air told me that the end was armed with razor-sharp pieces of metal. I automatically crossed both my arms across my chest and went to one knee to duck the blow. The staff passed over me, it's wielder taking one more step closer to bring his body almost over me as he attempted to recover from swinging the heavy staff. The brace blades shot from their housings and I uncrossed my arms, raking the backs of the blades through his abdomen… spilling his insides outward and down, to become entangled with his own legs. I reversed the arch of my right arm and cut upward through his knee, severing it and sending my now unbalanced opponent toppling away from me.

I imagine he had to be screaming, but it didn't register on my consciousness at that moment. Only the next move in the pattern mattered.

The next serious threats to me were the three men armed with blasters. I smoothly rose back to my feet, the blades retracting back into my braces to clear my hands. My armor is layered in scale-like plates, and not all of them are exactly as they seem. A number of my weapons are constructed to blend in as if part of the armor.

I reached down with both hands to the shells covering my thighs and pulled at a section. Two long throwing knives separated from their built-in sheaths. I took only the time to raise my arms and snap my hands downward. Both blades flew in two different directions to strike two of the gunmen; both of knives buried themselves to the hilt in the throat of each man.

The third man with a gun was behind me; I dropped to the ground and rolled backwards to where I judge him to be. I had deliberately placed myself in line with another thug holding a multi-chained flail weapon.

As expected, a shot rang out just as I hit the ground and rolled. I came back to my feet and spared a glance at the flail man to see his gun-toting companion had missed me, only to wound him in the shoulder. I then half-turned and caught the gunman's arm before he could recover and redirect his blaster at me.

I shattered his elbow.

His limb became suddenly flexible in my grasp and I resettled the gun to aim back on the man with the chain flail. I used the injured man's near dead finger to trigger the gun once more, and shot the flail user several more times in the chest. I idly cataloged that the firearm was a slug thrower as the chain-wielding thug fell backwards. I cranked back hard on the gunman's weapon arm, making him scream loudly as I jammed the muzzle of his weapon up under his own chin.

I helped his trigger finger to squeeze again, and the screaming stopped.

The entire fight had lasted mere microts in real time. I let the third gun user fall to the dirt and slowly rose to face the last gang member – the leader of the group.

He looked shocked, as if he couldn't believe his friends were dead.

I was use to that look. I had seen it countless times.

He backed up a few steps, as I watched, not aware of his position in the alleyway. He turned to run but only made a few steps before he realized he was facing a wall and blocked in. He spun back around to face me once more, finding that I was between him and his only route to freedom. Chiana and Zhaan were behind me as well.

There was no way in hezmana I was going to let him by.

He visibly steeled his nerves and then rushed me with his knife leading the way, accompanied with a scream to reinforce his resolve.

Here was the final moment. I did something not even I could predict – I closed my eyes. Time ceased for me, not even the sound of his closing footsteps seemed to matter. I inwardly was still, calm, despite what should have been a dangerous, life-threatening situation.

The moment took on a life of it own and stretched on for eternity.

Without thought, my right arm seem to slowly reach out before me of it's own will, the blades uncoiling from my brace felt like they took forever. Even when they reached full deployment, they appeared to hover there for cycles on their own.

Then the impact came, a jarring from faraway.

My eyes creped open slowly, to focus on the point of an unmoving knife blade just henta in front of them. In slow motion, the blade turned on its side and slipped away as if gravity were slowly claiming it.

Once it moved away, revealed in its place I saw my last enemy at arm's length. Both of his eyes pierced by my brace blades, he hung there like a puppet with all its strings cut.

He had impaled himself at the last instant.

A Scarran tinted voice spoke with some satisfaction in the back of my mind.

"_The moment had been… perfect."_

A downward tilt of my arm and the dead man slid free of my blades. Time decided at that point to reassert itself and everything appeared to return to normal. Automatically, I flicked the blades to rid as much of the gore from the metal as I possibly could. I normally didn't notice but the gauntlets themselves released a cleaning enzyme that broke down biological material on the blades before re-sheathing them. This time I allowed my self to watch and not dwell for that instant on what I'd just done.

It was better than facing Chiana and Zhaan just then.

I then forced myself to fully examine the carnage, as I heard Chiana helping Zhaan to her feet somewhere behind me. There was no reason I should ever allow myself to forget. I wanted to remember, needed to remember… this is what I needed to change if I were ever to become better than what the Syndicate left me as.

The moment had _not_ been perfect.

Had I been better, more in control, I could have defeated those men without taking their lives.

I would not have failed Zhaan… and not have tossed aside what she has gone to such pains to teach me.

Chiana would not have seen me do these things.

My two crewmates hobbled up behind me and stood silently for a few microts. I neither turned nor acknowledged them. The tiny rustle of their clothing told me they were surveying what I had wroth just as I was. A moment later a hand settled on my shoulder, I could tell without looking that it was Zhaan's.

"It was not your fault, " she told me. "They chose this path."

I turned then to look at her, feeling the emotionless expression of an Enforcer fill its usual place upon my features, knowing her words were a lie, solely meant to spare my feelings… and possibly cover her disappointment. She knew as well as I that I could have used other non-lethal means… had I really wished to.

She was just too kind a soul to at that moment point out that I was too weak to resist giving in to the Syndicate Enforcer still inside me.

Knowing I saw the falsehood in her comment, she turned toward other more pressing concerns for the time. "Come, let us leave and return to the Transport as fast as we can," the Delvian said. "We will find nothing more useful on this world, and we do not want to be answering any questions from what passes as the local Peacekeepers here."

The priestess paused just a microt to wave a silent blessing over the bodies of the fallen after she and Chiana collected our meager supplies and gray girl's coat, and started her way back toward where we left our ship. I used the time to recollect my cloak and drape it over my shoulders once again.

Chiana turned to me as the Delvian moved away and regarded me with soulful dark eyes. She attempted a weak smile and then realized it for what it was and let it die. She then instead moved in to briefly hug herself to me.

I knew the Nebari would not ask anything of me right there, she would wait until we were alone and in private ask if I wished to talk… knowing I would refuse as I always do.

Then she would quietly bear the next few solar days while I struggle to come to accept what I was… and the things I was capable of doing all over again.

She had seen for herself, knew what I could be like, but I could never bring myself to lay bare to her the whole of what I was, of all the things I had learned I have done, and the countless bloody things I have yet to discover about my past.

To learn everything, to hear it all… I was sure would drive her away.

She broke the hug sooner than I would have liked, but it was necessary that we move and leave the area. Somehow, she knew that the silent contact was the best thing to reassure me at the moment. It shore up my resolved to carry on a little further in the struggle to deal with what I was.

She reached back and took my hand to pull me forward behind her.

I followed, never letting go of the lifeline those small fingers had become for me.


End file.
